Community Forums

Sr-Chief · 05-24-2017, 10:17 AM

I am a Newbie and have just purchased a 2008 Adventurer with only 12,000 miles on it. Guessing it just sat in storage. The fresh water system is severely contaminated and flowing red. I pulled the inline water filter and it was Georgia mud red. When I look at the water lines in the water pump compartment they are tinted the same red tint color. I have drain the fresh water tank and refilled with a bleach solution and ran water to all faucets. After setting for 2 days I flushed with fresh water. It has gotten better, but the water is still tinted. Sometimes when flushing water at the toilet I notice small bits of debris coming out the water jets.

I'm guessing continue flushing and bleach. What say you folks.

Mr_D · 05-24-2017, 10:21 AM

Yep, continue till it runs clean.
What concentration of bleach did you use? The recommendation is ¼ cup 5% bleach solution to each 15 gallons of tank capacity and to let it sit in the whole system for 4 hours then flush.

stuhly · 05-24-2017, 10:22 AM

You are on the right track. Continue with what you are doing.

biggcrisp · 05-24-2017, 10:24 AM

Red is the color of rv antifreeze.

Just stating the obvious

WildSide · 05-24-2017, 10:25 AM

The solution to pollution is dilution. More fresh water and bleach. You may have a rust source you need to find. A cheap connector, pump part or even screen could be the cause and will continue to cause problems down the road.

**TonyDi** · 05-24-2017, 10:34 AM

Repeated flushing is the best solution. This may take many, many flushes until you get the problem resolved. When you do I would re-sanitize with bleach again.

Mr_D · 05-24-2017, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by biggcrisp

Red is the color of rv antifreeze.

Just stating the obvious

Good point, I overlooked that since the OP said the filter was Georgia red mud. But after one flushing the water should be pretty clear.

Skip426 · 05-24-2017, 10:49 AM

There is a debris screen on the inlet of the 12 volt water pump , that should be cleaned out too , do not run the pump without it , as damage to the internal valving could result.
Once you have the red out , using a solution of white vinegar will help get rid of the chlorine smell.

Don't forget to drain and flush the water heater; often ; as well.

nothermark · 05-24-2017, 10:51 AM

Depends how he flushed it and whether or not they put antifreeze in the water tank. I usually blow out the antifreeze and one flush does it. That was after learning it made more sense to blow it out before adding water + bleach. ;-)

Sr-Chief · 05-24-2017, 11:39 AM

I have cleaned the pump debris screen a couple of times. Guess it's going to take more flushing. Not sure if it is anti-freeze, but that was my guess also. Most likely dried up in the tank and lines. Its even in the washer.

okcnewbie · 05-24-2017, 11:57 AM

Are you using the city water inlet to clean out all the lines or the pump? I would use the city water inlet until the fresh water tank was running clean. If your fresh water tank is like some/most there may be a half inch of water that doesn't drain out. You could use a shop vac and vacuum out the bottom of the tank with a small enough hose fitting.
Good luck.

RKins · 05-24-2017, 02:02 PM

Definitely pull the drain plug on the water heater and the pressure valve at the top and use a hose to rinse from the top and blow it out the bottom. That's 6 or 10 gals of the stuff right there. after you get the WH flushed out close the valve that bypasses it and as some said, use city water to flush the lines. Might be a good time to throw some calgon in the grey and black tanks along with some detergent and when you get them about 1/2 full from flushing the lines, take a drive and slosh the tanks around a bit and then drain them.
Don't forget to clean the screen on all the faucets and the shower - if you have a sprayer next to the toilet, don't forget that too.

Sr-Chief · 05-24-2017, 02:32 PM

Thanks okcnewbie and RKins for the latest advice. Been raining here all day and have not had a chance to work on it. Will open the WH compartment tomorrow and start there.

Crabby Mike · 05-25-2017, 09:01 AM

Don't forget the low point drains (hot and cold) too. You mentioned the "washer," I assume you've run that a time or two, hopefully using both hot and cold water. Outside shower/sprayer too. There are a number of potential "dead ends" in the water system; you need to make sure you run water through all.